Transparency or the like with controlled body,and a method of producing the product



AND

g- 19, 1969 E. L. STEIN TRANSPARENCY OR THE LIKE WITH CONTROLLED BODY,

A METHOD OF PRODUCING THE PRODUCT Filed Aug. 24, 1966 INVENTOR. E ME-zL.STE/M m W MW MAW ATTORNEY United States Patent US. Cl. 161--3 5 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A multi-color press product, viewable byreflected and transmitted light comprising a first series of colorimpressions, a transparent material, and a second series of identicalimpressions respectively of colors identical with the impressions of thefirst series.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No.297,557, filed July 25, 1963, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a transparency or the like with controlledbody, and a method of producing the product. The invention hasparticular reference to the product of the multi-color printing press onwhich a number of colored impressions are printed sequentially and inperfect registry upon work which is fixed to the bed of the press duringthe successive printing operations. The invention seeks to provide apicture which will yield a brilliant image both in transmitted andreflected light.

Pictures printed in color on transparent or translucent webs or sheetsfrequently lack the intensity of pigment which would permit them to beviewed without loss of detail. The web or sheet has to have a certainamount of body to permit it to be handled as a transparency incommercial practice. Previous attempts to solve the problem haveinvolved printing the desired image on the face of the sheet or web andthen printing a registering image in reverse on the back of the web orsheet. Due to the required body and thickness of the web or sheet,diffusion results, particularly if the material is transparent. Eventhough the two images may be in full registry when the line of sight ofa viewer is normal to the surface, all other portions of the picturesuffer from offset, which reduces clarity or sharpness. Thus, completelyignoring the problem of securing perfect registry, even the best work inthis regard does not yield the desired result.

The present invention is based on the discovery that both brilliance ofcolor and sharpness of detail can be achieved if, while the work isstill fixed to the bed of the press the otherwise finished pictureproduced by the first series of impressions is covered by a very thintranslucent coating which serves as a base upon which the same sequenceof impressions is repeated so that the composite picture is printedtwice in the same sense and on the same side of the base sheet. Sincethe second image is identical with the first (instead of being thereverse thereof), each of the second series of impressions reenforcesthe effect of the corresponding impressions of the first series to giveadded depth of tone when the product is viewed as a transparency butwithout in any way modifying to any material degree the appearance ofthe work as viewed by reflected light.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a sheet printed with a firstimpression in accordance with a first method step of the presentinvention, portions of the first impression being broken away to exposethe sheet.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic showing of a second method step, the firstimpression now being covered with a thin coating, portions of thecoating and of the first impression being broken away.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the alternative provision of athin film substituted for the coating, the film being shown partiallylaminated into position and portions thereof being broken away.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of the completed product, portions ofthe second impression and the intermediate coating or film and theprimary impression being broken away.

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary diagrammatic detail view insection on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

In the preferred practice of the invention, a multiple color press isused conventionally to print sequentially three or more colors toproduce a multi-colored picture, upon a light-permeable base member,usually a web or sheet of commercially adequate body. The Web or sheetmay be entirely transparent if desired. In commercial practice, it isusually translucent. Ordinary paper is frequently used. For lessopacity, I frequently use a wellknown translucent paper such at Opalineor the like (Opaline being the trademark applied to a well-known exampleof a translucent material commonly used in the making oftransparencies). Vinyl or the like is an example of a transparentmaterial commonly used. While the number of colors is immaterial, Iprefer to use any conventional multiple color press. For convenience ofillustration, the picture is here represented by the four areas 8, 10,12 and 14 which are delineated and shaded to represent four differentcolors.

Upon the completed impression thus printed by a multi-color press on thetranslucent or transparent base member, whether a web or sheet, I applya light-permeable layer or ply 20 which is very thin and may betransparent but is normally translucent. Its function is primarily toprovide a continuous coat over the multi-colored impressions previouslymade and thereby to provide a base for its successive similarimpressions. Normally, this layer 20 will be white in color but it maybe of so-called neutral density (which is a gray). As a preferredmaterial for this purpose, I use a lithographic ink which is widelyknown in the industry under the name of opaque white and is compoundedof linseed varnish, rosin and paraflin oil, titanium powder, magnesiumpowder, and blank fix powder. This coating is applied over the entirework and is very thin, approximating .06 micron. It only slightlyobscures the first press lay down of a multi-color image with the resultthat the second multi-color lay down in the press will greatly increasethe strength of the pigment for viewing by transmitted light withoutappreciably altering its normal appearance as viewed by reflected light.

While the Work remains on the bed of the multi-color press, animpression, preferably identical with the first impression, is nowprinted upon the intermediate lightpermeable layer in registry with thefirst impression. Normally, the same identical colors as well as thesame identical outlines will be used. For the purposes hereof, thesecond picture is represented by the areas 28, 30, 32 and 34, thesehaving lines indicating color and identical in delineation with thecorrespondingly lined areas 10, 12 and 14 of the first impression, withwhich the areas 28, 30, 32 and 34 are in exact registry. In FIGS. 4 and5, reference character 20 has been used to identify the intermediatecoating or laminate, it being understood that it is immaterial for thepurposes of this diagrammatic disclosure whether the intermediate layeris a coating as at 20 or a laminate as at 200. For certain effects, itis possible to omit one or more colors used in the first printing.

The resulting product of the multi-color press operation will show apicture in brilliant color with full detail when viewed either withtransmitted or reflected light. All colors will have substantially thesame color density regardless of whether the picture is viewed bytransmitted or reflected light, the effect being distinctly different inthis'regard from any previously known transparency.

In the preferred practice of the invention, a coating is used ratherthan a laminate. The coating is preferably applied by printing it uponthe work but it may be applied in any manner, as by roller-coating orspraying or painting it directly upon the previously printed work. Thecoating may be transparent but preferably comprises material which willbe translucent in effect. I have already stated as a preferred exampleopaque white, which comprises a white pigment in an appropriate vehicle.As applied in a thin coating, it is not opaque but appropriatelytranslucent. In the preferred practice of the invention, it will notcompletely obscure the originally printed picture, at least, when thepicture is viewed in transmitted light. The intermediate layer is soextremely thin that if the two impressions have been printed in fullregister, as by a continuous or substantially continuous operation on amulti-color press, each will supplement the other to give an image whichwill be brilliant whether the picture is viewed in transmitted orreflected light.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a multi-color press product whichcomprises a picture having a translucent base of suflicient thickness tobe self-supporting and upon which are disposed a first series of atleast three press impressions of difiering colors, an extremely thinapplication of translucent material extending across said impressions,and a second series of identical impressions respectively of colorsidentical with the impressions of the first series and respectivelysuperimposed in the same sense and in registry therewith on the sameside of said base, whereby the colors of the first series impressionsare intensified when the article is viewed as a transparency and are ofsubstantially the same intensity as the colors exposed in the secondseries impressions when the article is viewed by reflected light.

2. An article according to claim 1 in which said application comprises acoating of translucent material which is sufficiently neutral to producesubstantially no modification of the color of a color-press impression,the said coating being of the thickness of a single printing of ink.

3. A method of making a picture which produces substantially the samevisual effect whether viewed as a transparency or by reflected light,said method consisting in placing upon a multi-color press a lightpermeable backing member having adequate body for handling as atransparency, the multi-color press-printing upon said body of a firstseries of at least three impressions of different colors to produce acolor picture which can be viewed both as a transparency and byreflected light, making a thin application of light-permeable materialacross the impressions of the first series which constitute saidpicture, and multi-color press-printing on top of said material a secondseries of impressions identical in position and color and sense withcolor impressions of the first series, the impressions of the secondseries having increased density when viewed by transmitted light ascompared with colored impressions which are not backed by likeimpressions of a previous series, the visual effect when viewed bytransmitted light being substantially identical with the effect asviewed by reflected light.

4. A method according to claim 3 in which the step of making saidapplication is a roller coating step.

5. A method according to claim 3 in which the step of making saidapplication is a further press-printing step.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,928,758 10/1933 Mairson et a1.101-2l1 2,880,541 4/1959 Kahn 1613 3,163,554 12/1964 Gessler 1l7-45ROBERT F. BURNETT, Primary Examiner M. A. LITMAN, Assistant ExaminerU.S. Cl. X.R.

